10 Everyday Parenting Moments Worth Celebrating

Parents share their ordinary-turned-extraordinary moments with baby.

The Bump and Cetaphil Baby present Celebrate Everyday, a sponsored series featuring expert tips and advice for making time with baby special and enjoyable. Visit Cetaphil.com to learn more about its baby skin care products.

Baby’s early years are filled with lots of big firsts to commemorate. Think: baths, sleeping through the night, solid foods, words, steps and, of course, birthdays. But in between those milestones are hundreds of tiny little surprises just as worthy of celebration—from hearing that adorable belly laugh to watching a sibling bond take shape. We asked The Bump users to share the unexpected moments with baby that brought them the most joy.

What’s in a Name

“We’re a military family, so we don't see family and friends from back home very often. We try to video chat at least once a week, although my youngest is usually disinterested. When chatting with my mom recently, I said to my son, ‘Say bye-bye.’ And he said, ‘Bye-bye, Grandma!’ Just hearing him say ‘Grandma’ made me so proud.” —Amanda G., mom to Zachary, 3 years old

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

"Emma has started singing all of the songs I used to sing to her in the bath. Now when she gets in the tub, she starts to hum the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’ and quack her rubber duckies. It's adorable!" —Liz R., mom to Emma, 18 months old

Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile

"The sweetest moments are the smiles he gives us every morning when we get him from his crib! There is nothing like a ‘good morning’ from a gummy, smiling baby!" —Sara B., mom to Alec, 4 months old

Curtain Call

“When my daughter Julia was about 18 months (and actually still now), she loved to dance around and sing to her own songs, waiting for us to clap for her at the end. Whenever we did, she would bow and say, ‘Thank you much!’ It was the sweetest and funniest thing.” —Christina M., mom to Julia, 3 years old

Jumping for Joy

"My older daughter was skipping down the sidewalk when she took a flying leap, which made my younger daughter laugh for the first time. My older one leapt again and baby cracked up, again. On and on, the whole way home, everyone laughing. It was pretty magical." —Aynsley K., mom to Eliza, 5 years old, and Lucy, one year old

What a Night

“The first time my son fell asleep without any help from me…I thought I had won the lottery that night! I swaddled him, laid him in his DockATot like usual, and went to clean my pump parts. When I came back in the room, he was fast asleep. It felt like a real win.” —Danielle B., mom to Ethan, 8 months old

Bathtub Book Club

"My almost eight-month-old loves to bring a plastic book into the bathtub and read it! She’s infatuated with books, and I hope that stays with her as she grows.” —Chrissy M., mom to Polly, 8 months old

Building Blocks

"When putting our first Lego house together, my daughter was adamant on what went where, pushing each piece in herself even though she didn’t really have the strength! After she felt we were done, she jumped around and clapped at her masterpiece." —Dan M., father to Sara, 3 years old

Peekaboo

"Seeing her get excited when I come home from work is the absolute best thing in the world! Every day I stand by the door and wait patiently and quietly until she looks up and sees me. That way, I treasure the exact reaction!" —Nathalia S., mom to Marianna, 7.5 months old

(Little) Man’s Best Friend

“Fitzgerald loves his older sister (aka our dog, Kokomo), and she loves him! He smiles and giggles when she licks his toes. The best is when he sticks out his hand to touch her and they just stare at each other—I can't wait until they can run around together!” —Michelle, mom to Fitzgerald, 4 months old

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